I have a compatibility question. I am using Office Live to edit .docx files online. But when I download the .docx files down to my Macbook pro (running snow leopard) and I try to open the .docx file in LibreOffice 3.3 I get the below error - but this doesn't happen on a Windows system. Is this a Mac issue, Office Live issue, or a LibreOffice on Mac issue or a little of all 3?

I believe LibreOffice may be a fork of OpenOffice.org. Can you open that document with the most recent version of OpenOffice.org?
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Randolf RichardsonMar 14 '11 at 5:19

let me download and get back to you.
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Jeremy HajekMar 14 '11 at 14:54

If it opens in OOo (OpenOffice.org), then try using OOo to then save it with a different name and load that new file in LibreOffice -- hopefully this will resolve your problem (and if it does, then it means that LibreOffice is unable to read that particular document).
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Randolf RichardsonMar 14 '11 at 15:02

Downloaded OpenOffice 3.3 same result. I think this has to do with the way the Office Live saves their .docx files
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Jeremy HajekMar 17 '11 at 4:45

@Jeremy Hajek: Try copying your suspect .docx file to a .zip file, then see if you can open it with 7-Zip ( sevenzip.sourceforge.net ) or some other .Zip file manager. If you can't open it, then that is a pretty clear indication that Office Live is NOT saving it properly.
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Randolf RichardsonMar 19 '11 at 4:05

1 Answer
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To guarantee that your documents can be opened by the widest range of products and far into the future, save your documents in OpenDocument format, the new international standard for text documents. This XML-based format means that people opening your files are not obliged to use Writer: they can be accessed using any OpenDocument-compliant software.

Writer easily reads Microsoft Word documents, and you can also save your work in Microsoft Word format, for sending to people still locked into Microsoft products. LibreOffice can also open .docx files created with Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows or Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac OS X.